Tax notice, There are arrears reckoned on your account over a period of 2010-2011 year.You will find all calculations according to your financial debt, enclosed.You have to sick the debt by the 17 December 2011. Sincerely, Internal Revenue Service. “

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Top 10 avoidable scams

On Wednesday October 5, 2011, 10:17 pm EDT

The Vancouver Police Department and the Better Business Bureau of B.C. have released their annual list of the Top 10 scams that consumers can avoid, and it includes a few new ones and few old cons that have been around for a while.

(1) The computer virus scam

This is a relatively new scam in Canada that has been active in the U.K. for a number of years, say police.

The victim gets a phone call from a major computer company offering to fix a virus on the victim's computer. Once the victim logs on to a website, the screen goes black and the scammer, who is often based in India, charges the victim $150 to make the computer work again.

Police recommend simply hanging up on the caller and avoiding the websites they recommend.

(2) The fake lottery scam

The victim, who is often elderly, is sent an email saying they have won a lottery, but they are told they need to send money before they can claim their prize. The lottery is a fake and the money is lost forever.

Police recommend warning elderly friends and relatives about this common scam.

(3) Concert or sports ticket reselling scam

The victim pays cash for an authentic ticket to a concert or sporting event from a reseller who was advertising online.

When the victim tries to use the ticket to enter the event they are denied entry because the ticket has been bought with a stolen credit card by the fraudster, and cancelled by the original company once they discover the fraud.

Police recommend only buying tickets from established ticket resellers and only to using a credit card to buy them so you can cancel the payment if the tickets are invalid.

(4) The grandson in trouble overseas

Type 1 - The victim, often an elderly person, gets a call from some saying they are their grandson or another family member, and they are in trouble overseas and desperately need money to get home. The scammer also tells the victim to wire them the money, but not to tell anyone, because they want to keep the situation secret.

But victim later discovers the grandchild is fine and was never in trouble, and it was just an imposter who got their phone number by digging through their garbage.

Type 2 - The scammer gains access to the victim's email or Facebook account and sends a distress email to all of the victim's email contacts.

The email states that the victim is in distress in a foreign country and to keep the information confidential. As in the first type, the victim is asked to wire money to the foreign country, later discovering their friend was never in trouble.

In this scam the victim appears to find a great deal on a rental property and meets with the landlord online or in a coffee shop to close the deal.

After paying a damage deposit in cash or by wire service, when the victim tries to move in, they discover the landlord was a fake and somebody else might even be living in the home.

Police recommend you inspect all property in person and ask the landlord for photo identification, and pay with a post-dated personal cheque.

(6) Counterfeit currency used to buy electronics online

In this scam the victim posts an ad online to sell an item, often a popular valuable electronic item.

But the scammer pays for it with counterfeit currency and takes off before the victim notices the fraud.

Police say watch out for fake money when selling electronic items such as iPhones, Xboxes or PlayStations, and know at least three security features to ensure bills are not fake.

(7) The secret shopper scam

The victim gets a job from an online ad to be a mystery or secret shopper. The fake employer sends them a bank cheque and asks them to cash it, keep some for themselves and wire the rest back to test out a service such as Western Union.

But when the bank determines the cheque was a fake, the victim is charged for the money they sent the scammer.

Police say whenever you are asked by a stranger to wire money based on a cheque deposit, it is normally a scam

(8) The Nigerian Scam

This well-known scam is also known as the 419 scam after Section 419 of the Nigerian Penal Code that prohibits this activity. The victim gets a letter from an official in a foreign country asking for help getting a large amount of money out their country in exchange for a share of the loot.

The victim wires money to the scammer, but they get nothing in return.

Police warn that all advanced fee requests are scams and if you receive a letter in the mail or via fax, simply ignore it

(9) Fake bank security scam

The victim gets an email that appears to be from their bank asking them to open an attachment and enter their bank information in order to protect or verify their account. But the message is a clever fake and the scammer uses the information to access the victim's bank accounts.

Police warn no bank will email you regarding security issues and any requests should be deleted and ignored.

(10) The fake charity collector, home or fire inspector

In this scam, someone knocks on the victim's door claiming to be collecting for a charity or claiming to be a fire or building inspector. The victim feels pressured and donates or pays the person with cash.

Police say real charities and inspectors don't collect money door to door and you should lock the door and call police if anyone suspicious comes knocking asking for money.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Rogers to offer companies alternative to BlackBerry

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Rogers Communications is teaming with a mobile device management company to enable corporate customers to use Apple and Google Android devices to send secure business email.

In a blow to Research In Motion 's BlackBerry , Canada's largest wireless company said on Tuesday it is partnering with Montreal-based Trellia to give more options to businesses that once relied exclusively on Blackberry's security features to protect employee email.

The Trellia service will adapt the growing number of non-BlackBerry devices turning up in the hands of employees so they can handle business communications securely.

IT departments will be able to configure devices remotely, enforce company policies, control international roaming costs and manage corporate applications.

The move by Rogers is a response to a broad shift by consumers to Apple's iPhone and iPad or devices using Google's Android software. Rogers wants to ensure its corporate clients can use these devices for business as well.

"This is driven by customer demand," said Mansell Nelson, vice-president for Rogers' machine-to-machine business, which also covers smart metering, fleet and home management.

RIM's BlackBerry has long been dominant in boardrooms due to the speed and security of its email and other messaging, superior keypads and long battery life.

As touchscreen devices such as the iPhone grow more popular with consumers, employees want to hook them up to corporate systems.

"My 19-year-old daughter with her iPhone would say 'why do I want to be given that RIM thing, why can't I just use my iPhone in the enterprise that I'm working for now'," Nelson said. "That's a tide that I'm not sure you can stop."

The Trellia service will cost around C$3.50 ($3.33) per device a month with no upfront costs, and will be incorporated into the Rogers bill, Trellia Chief Executive Giovanni Forte said.

"We can get on the phone with any company and activate an iPhone and provide security in five minutes," he said.

RIM charges carriers a monthly subscription fee per BlackBerry device. ThinkEquity analyst Mark McKechnie estimated last week that RIM gets an average of $4.67 a month from each of its 90 million subscribers globally and that service fees make up more than 80 percent of RIM's earnings.

He called on RIM to support rival devices on its network operating centers and BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES) servers before rivals catch up on the company's strengths.

In May, RIM said it had bought a device management company, Ubitexx, and would manage Apple and Android devices on its secure servers, but McKechnie said he had "not as of yet witnessed any moves in the direction."

At the time, RIM said the service would be available this year but would not include its push messaging capabilities or data-squeezing and encryption technology.

Nelson, who estimates Rogers has hundreds of thousands of enterprise BlackBerrys on its network, thinks alternatives will take at least ten percent of that market within five years.

Rogers was one of the first network operators to work with RIM, which built software for a data-only network called Mobitex that Rogers operated in the early 1990s. ($1 = $1.05 Canadian)

(This story corrects previous one to say Rogers is Canada's largest wireless provider, not largest telecom company, in second paragraph)

The iPhone 4S doesn't improve upon the look of its predecessor — in fact, the two phones are essentially identical. While early rumors had pointed to a slimmer, rounded, and maybe even teardrop-shaped iPhone, the iPhone 4S has the same squared-off design we've come to know since Apple unveiled it in 2010. It will come in black and white. The 16GB model starts at $199 with a contract, 32GB costs $299 and a new 64 GB model will be a whopping $399.

Worth Upgrading for Design? No-brainer, not worth it!

Hardware Improvements

While the iPhone 4S may not have a flashy new look, its real changes can be found under the hood. The phone's biggest upgrade is its new dual-core A5 processor. With the A5, the iPhone 4S joins the lightning-fast ranks of the iPad 2 — the other Apple device that runs on the powerful new chip. Processing power may not sound all that exciting, but this performance boost means the iPhone 4S will be blazing fast, with speeds that can double those of the iPhone 4.

Since the iPhone is all about apps, the A5 will make running them a smoother process than ever — a change mobile gamers are sure to celebrate. Apple demonstrated this graphical prowess with Infinity Blade 2, the upcoming sequel to the original iOS role-playing game known for its good looks and lifelike in-game visual effects.

Beyond the processor, the iPhone 4S has a neat trick: it can switch between GSM and CDMA cellular networks. The addition should make toting your iPhone on international trips much less of a hassle, since the phone is built to run on the two major flavors of mobile network around the world. Speaking of networks, Apple announced that Sprint will be the newest carrier for the iPhone, but unfortunately T-Mobile users are left out in the cold again. Sprint's unlimited data plans could make the carrier an very attractive choice for heavy data users.

Worth upgrading for Hardware? Yes. If you have an iPhone 3GS (or even older model), the speed of the new chipset will make navigating your daily tasks on the phone a breeze. iPhone 4 owners could still appreciate the boost, but it isn't a wholly necessary upgrade.

Camera

The iPhone 4's camera is widely regarded as the best around, but the iPhone 4S will put the already great camera to shame. In fact, the 4S camera improvements could be Apple's biggest selling point for the 4S.

Worth upgrading for the Camera? For budding mobile photographers and anyone with a 3Gs or older iPhone: Yes. For iPhone 4 owners who only casually use the camera: No.

Hardware That's Missing

What you won't see in the iPhone 4S is NFC (Near Field Communication), a technology that many thought would be included in the update. NFC lets you make mobile payments by using your cell phone as a credit card — just wave the phone over a special sensor to pay.

Something else the iPhone 4S is missing is "true" 4G. The new iPhone offers support for HSPA+, which theoretically doubles the speed of data on AT&T's network — but it's arguably not real 4G. Unfortunately, the 4S can't connect to Verizon's LTE 4G network or Sprint's WiMax 4G network.

Siri

Beyond the camera, the iPhone 4S has one more unique selling point: Siri. Siri is a voice command and dictation app that Apple has deeply integrated it into the fabric of the new phone. We knew some interesting voice-to-text features were in the works after Apple acquired Siri last year. For now the app's advanced voice features will be exclusive to the 4S.

Beyond normal dictation in text and email, Siri lets you issue verbal commands that trigger an action on your phone. Android has a similar feature with Google's Voice Actions app, but Siri takes it to the next level: Not only do you speak into your phone, but Siri will talk back with the information you need. As your personal voice guide, Siri can execute many different tasks, but here's a sampling:

* Set a reminder* Set your alarm* Send a text* Check the weather* Set a meeting* Send an email* Look up directions

* Find a phone number* Conduct a web search

Worth upgrading for Siri? Until it's fully tested, you should hold off if this is your only motivation to upgrade. Then again, Apple doesn't bet the farm on flaky products and they are all in on this one.

iOS 5

The iPhone 4S will run Apple's newest operating system, iOS 5. The new software, which debuts on October 12 for most new iOS devices, features a host of improvements, and the 4S will be the first Apple device to run on the new mobile operating system out of the gate. Some of the new features:

* Drop-down notification menu rather than pop-up alerts* Improved Safari browser* Location-triggered reminders (for example, through GPS, your phone could remind you to mail a letter before you leave home)* iCloud, Apple's new media syncing service for music, photos, videos, and apps* "PC free" wireless updates that don't require you to plug your device into a computer* Newsstand for keeping your digital magazine and newspaper subscriptions in one place* iMessage, a messaging app for communicating with other iOS 5 users

Worth Upgrading for IOS 5? No. You can download a free upgrade to iOS 5 if you have an iPhone 4 or an iPhone 3GS (original iPhone, iPhone 3G, and early iPod touch models will not be upgradable to iOS 5).

Monday, October 3, 2011

GuruDan received the following in his email inbox today…he believes this is a SCAM:

“ Google Team: You have a new alertGoogle Team [richard_krajewski@co.morris.nj.us]

Sent: Mon 10/3/2011 11:20 AM To: GuruDan (NOT A G-MAIL ADDRESS)

SUBJECTL N/A

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This message was sent from a notification-only email address that does not accept incoming email. Please do not reply to this message. If you have any questions, please our Help Center to find answers to frequently asked questions.

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Dear Valued Customer,

Please update your primary and backup payment information, even if you plan to use the same information. Please follow the steps below to update your payment information.

Your credit card will only be used and stored as part of re-enabling your account.

In 1986, GuruDan accepted a project with Banyan Ltd., an Audio/Video and Television production house in Trinidad, West Indies, where he held the position of General Manager. Along with the management team he assisted in a project with UNESCO - div. of the United Nations - to help develop video and television production in several islands in the Caribbean. Actively involved in the business of television with respect to funding, corporate sponsorship and advertising - he assisted in the business production of several cultural documentaries, including a weekly cultural news magazine series, Gayelle, for the Trinidad & Tobago television stations, and the BBC in the United Kingdom.

He currently is:

(a)a working partner and Marketing/Advertising
Strategist of GuruDan Group, which specializes in Strategic Planning,
Marketing and Advertising Consulting, Corporate Communications and Multi-Media
Production services to Small-to -Medium-sized Businesses (SME/SMB) throughout the
Canada/USA/Caribbean region.

(b)The owner and Diversity to
Inclusion Strategist of Diversity2Inclusion Strategies, which provides strategies
and solutions to effect change and acceptance of external stimuli affecting
equality, productivity and efficiencies of the human resources factor of
businesses, organizations, and associations.

GuruDan considers himself a Middlepath
thinker. Creative people are right-side thinkers. They are poets, artists,
romantics caught up in a world of profits and commerce, and who deal in ideas
and art. Left-side thinkers want the creative to make sense to them - to
make profits.
Middlepath thinking is the bridge that connects the gap between the right-side
and left-side thinkers - it is the secret of turning diversity to inclusion AND
creative into profit. This is his area of expertise - his unique ability.

He has published and hosts several Blogs
including:

1)GuruDan: …walking the talk on the journey of life...making our
world a better place…for all!